• Job: Headhunter, Canton

(ENLARGE)

Ross Teich helps staffing companies find the perfect candidates for jobs within their companies. Because of the nature of the industry, searching for a job can be tricky for employees at staffing companies. That's where Teich's business, SimonKris, comes in, acting as a buffer between companies and job-seekers. 'It all comes down to discretion,' he said.

• What I do: No, not that kind of headhunter. Ross Teich, 40, is an executive recruiter — sometimes called a headhunter in the business — for the staffing industry. As founder and managing partner of SimonKris, he works with staffing companies to find top executives and with executives looking for positions in the industry.

That doesn't mean he's filling "temp" jobs. "My clients are the largest staffing companies, and we're placing leaders for those staffing companies," he said.

The reason he gets involved, he said, is discretion. The executives "don't want to have their own company find out they're testing the water."

Similarly, his corporate clients want to be ethical when they are searching to fill top positions and don't want to be seen as raiders of a competitor's talent.

Teich and his team of five recruiters work from their homes in what he called a "virtual office." He spends his day on the phone, "dialin' and smilin' " — finding candidates for open positions and selling them on the idea of changing jobs, or talking with companies to place individuals in jobs.

He said it's not unusual for him to make 150 to 350 calls a day to people throughout the country. In the three years he's had his own company, Teich said he's built an extensive database of people and positions in the staffing industry. Typically, he said, candidates jump to jobs with competitors, rather than switching industries.

"We're out to help improve careers — [in terms of] both responsibilities and compensation," Teich said of the work he does for individuals. For the staffing companies, his goal is to find the best people for the jobs.

Teich's payday comes when a job and a candidate come together. His customary fee, usually paid by the employer, is 20 percent of the candidate's first-year base salary.

• What got me interested in this: After Teich graduated from college, his sister put him in touch with an executive recruiting company in Atlanta.

Teich said he was taught well at that company but found Atlanta traffic brutal.

He moved to Canton and formed his company, hiring more recruiters and setting up the virtual office.

• Best part of my job: "I love being the best," Teich said. "I'm such a competitor. Being

No. 1 pays off with the best offers, where my candidate and client are happy."

• Most challenging part: "Getting to the 11th hour of a two-month interview process, and the candidate or the client wants to put on the brakes," he said.

In that time, there probably have been several face-to-face interviews, background checks, negotiations involving noncompete agreements, and talks about responsibilities, compensation and other perks of the job.

"I know how to close that deal," Teich said.

• What people don't know about my job: "How you go about finding good candidates," he said. "You have to know the industry. We get a lot of referrals."

He said that, when it's time to fill a position, he'll talk to "anybody and everybody, from sales reps to CEOs."

• What keeps me going: "I love driving revenue," Teich said. "I'm money-motivated. I want to be the best in this industry."

Working from his home, he's also reminded of his other motivation: his family.

• Preparation needed for this job: You need high energy and high activity levels, Teich said. "You have to be fearless on the phone but not come across 'sales-y.' You have to be able to talk to anyone. . . . Every time the phone rings, it's potential money calling."

While Teich prefers to hire people with college degrees, it's not necessary to do the job. There are no licenses or certifications. Teich said he learned on the job, and he stays up-to-date by networking.

Teich has a bachelor's degree in finance from Kennesaw State University and worked for an Atlanta recruiting company before going out on his own. His company's name combines the names of a pet cat, Simon, and of Christ, with the spelling altered to Kris.

"We put it together, and it looked professional," he said.

- By Karl W. Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.